Princeton's financial aid program, which offers grants that meet each undergraduate's full financial need and that do not have to be repaid, allows students to discover and pursue their academic and extracurricular passions.

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Video feature: 'Financial Aid at Princeton'

Posted April 8, 2013; 12:00 p.m.

by Staff

Studying engineering, playing basketball in the NCAA tournament, and traveling to Europe are just a few opportunities made possible by Princeton University's groundbreaking financial aid program.

Princeton's no-loan aid packages — which provide grants that meet each undergraduate's full financial need and do not have to be repaid — apply to all admitted students, domestic and international. In this video, students and alumni discuss the academic, social and extracurricular experiences they pursued with the help of financial aid.

Senior Sarah Hedgecock said that her aid package was a major factor in her decision to attend Princeton. Without it, she said: "I wouldn't have gotten an opportunity to go to France last summer or an internship at Newsweek this summer. I wouldn't have had the chance to be on the executive board of a freestanding theater. … It's really nice to know that I'm going to be able to graduate without student debt."

About 60 percent of the University's undergraduates receive financial aid. The average grant for the Class of 2016 was $37,600; it is expected to be in excess of $39,000 for the coming year.